Practice Makes Perfect
by Amber Lehcar
Summary: Maka is completely hopeless when is comes to sports. Soul is completely hopeless when it comes to academics. Let the learning commence! And some fluff along the way, naturally!


"All right, let's get going!" Soul called, one hand on the front door's doorknob, the other spinning a basketball on his index finger.

"Hold it right there!" Maka stormed up to him, pencil and textbook in hand. "We're supposed to be studying for the finals coming up! You promised! And you need all the help you can get."

"Don't forget you promised to finally learn to play basketball so we can have even teams," he retorted, scowling at her. Maka knew that tutoring Soul was going to give her a headache. Arguing with him was just going to make it worse.

She walked slowly to the nearby kitchen table and set the book and pencil down. Rubbing the bridge of her nose, she turned to him and said defeated, "Fine, let's agree that we'll practice basketball for a few hours then study until it's time for bed. Sound okay?"

Soul gave his usual response, "Cool." He bolted out of the shared apartment, Maka following reluctantly behind him. But, a promise was a promise.

"Okay, we'll start with defense," Soul announced once the two got to the deserted basketball court. "Offense is probably easy for you, Little Miss Aggressive in Battle."

Maka couldn't stand it when he teased her. "I prefer being called 'assertive', thank you very much!" He stood at the top of the key and instructed her to get into a defensive stance… to which Maka responded with a confused head cock.

"Spread your feet apart." She did as she was told. "Arms up." She put her arms up, hands above her head. "No, I mean out. Like an airplane." She lowered her arms obediently. "Now, get low." She bent over, staring at the pavement below. "No! Bend your knees." She brought her upper-body back up and bent her knees. "Perfect. Now, don't let me pass you."

She placed a determined look on her face. "You don't have to be so serious," he laughed. "You just have to have fun." He put his back to her, acting like he'd just been passed the ball from the other side of the court. He then turned right and ran past Maka who couldn't keep up. "You're doing it wrong," he called from under the basket. "You have to stay close to me and follow where I go. Then I can't get past you. Here." He threw the ball to her. "Let me show you."

He had her face half-court, ball in hand. It was her job to try to get past him. He stood close behind her and placed a hand on her waist. She jumped forward at his touch. "Um, what do you think you're doing?!" she demanded, spinning to face him.

"Uh, playing defense? Duh! Get back here," he instructed. Once she complied, he set his hand back on her waist and explained, "Now I can tell which way you're going to go. Try to move." She moved left then right. Soul was still in her way. "See? Can't get past me, can ya? So if you can't dribble or pass, you attempt to shoot. So, for now we'll switch to offense. I want you to turn around and shoot."

Maka closed her eyes and took a deep breath. After visualizing herself making the shot, she spun around and attempted to shoot the ball. But she spun too fast and tripped over her feet. She fell into Soul who was so surprised he fell to the ground, Maka falling on top of him. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" she stammered, getting up on her hands and knees. She looked at him, now realizing the compromising position they were in. She blushed furiously.

Not really aware of what he was doing, Soul brought his hands up, setting them at her waist. "Um… Soul…" Something about her saying his name sent a shiver down his spine. "Um… I think you're supposed to play defense standing up…" she said innocently. Soul then realized where his hands were and dropped them immediately. He mumbled for her to get off.

"You really suck at basketball, you know?" he teased her. She responded by sticking her tongue out. "But practice makes perfect, so let's get back to work!" Only sports could keep Soul in a good mood. Two more hours of practice and the two were worn out. Maka hadn't improved even a little bit.

"Time to study!" she said excitedly. At home, she grabbed a plethora of textbooks, notebooks, and pencils. "Okay! What do you want to start with, Soul?" "A nap…" "Chop!!"

Dislodging the textbook from his cranium, he sat at the kitchen table and said, "Guess we'll start with…" He looked at the cover of the book. "Math?"

"Sure!" Maka sat next to him at the table. It didn't take long for Soul to get angry at the confusing algebra problems. "Here, you idiot," Maka said, reaching across him to get his notebook. Remembering what had occurred at the basketball court, Soul began to blush. He covered his face, thinking, _"Cool guys don't blush… especially around someone like Maka… no matter how cute she may- Damn it! What am I thinking?!"_

"See, here you have to use the distributive property. Then subtract… now divide… see? Easy!" Maka explained. "Uh… thanks…" eh said, taking back his notebook, careful to avoid her hand. "Anything else?" she asked him sweetly. She leaned closer to him to look at the open book in front of him.

He closed his eyes, trying to ignore their close proximity. He could smell the familiar scent of mint… her scent. Suddenly, he felt her hand on his thigh, holding herself up so she could see the textbook better. "Do you understand this one?" she asked, pointing to one of the problems.

"No… not really," he admitted, turning his head to avoid her deep green eyes. "Well, like you said, 'practice makes perfect'!" she said happily. He looked back at her. The smile on her face, how close she was to him… it was all too much for him. To refrain from mashing his lips to hers, he opted for kissing her forehead instead.

Her face immediately turned beet-red. "Uh… what was that for…?" She realized how close she was to him and backed away.

"Um… to thank you… I guess…" he muttered. "Oh… well…" she whispered. Maka paused for a moment, apparently lost in thought. She suddenly made up her mind and kissed Soul lightly on the lips. "You're welcome," she whispered.

He chose to tease her one more time. "You suck at that, too," he said, smirking at her. Maka's embarrassed look was replaced with a sly smile.

"Practice makes perfect, Soul…"

* * *

Inspired by the fact they never really teach Maka to play basketball... and apparently Soul does not do well in school... or just not up to Maka's standards. In case you're wondering, they both did poorly (no studying actually took place XD). Please review!


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